My Big Fat Greek Life

So far, My Big Fat Greek Life has all the predictable jokes and canned laughter of an ordinary sitcom without enough of the dark insights or droll wit that made its predecessor the most successful independent film ever made.

If the characters and conflict of My Big Fat Greek Life continue to feel true to life, while regaining some of their edge, things might just turn out OK. Nia, at least, has learned to trust that they will.

Despite the well-drawn characters, there's a forced hokiness to the entire affair, and the laugh track is an unkind addition.

The honeymoon's over. My Big Fat Greek Wedding ended its charmed existence as a word-of-mouth movie and became a noisy, standard-issue CBS sitcom Monday night. [25 Feb 2003, p.21A]

Strictly as a sitcom, My Big Fat Greek Life, despite its unusual origins, comes across as blatantly ordinary. It's shamelessly similar to "Everybody Loves Raymond" but so far not nearly as good. [26 Feb 2003, p.C01]

The series suffers from several major problems. Vardalos and Eckholdt do not have chemistry. He is a bland replacement for John Corbett, the film's charismatic heartthrob who is making another series.

The opening episode of the TV sequel to the big-screen hit wasn't impressive, or even particularly amusing, either. [26 Feb 2003, p.75]

Make a list of sitcom cliche shtick, and you'd find it all here. The eye-bulging hard-trying line sell. The ba-dum-bum punch line rhythm. The motormouth babbling to signify "wackiness." The louder- the-better sense of comedy. Even the family visit where members enter a room precisely a peculiar eight paces apart so each has time for an entrance "joke." [27 Feb 2003, p.B31]

Although premieres are rarely the final word on TV comedies, this one felt like just another sitcom instead of stage two of Nia Vardalos' engaging froth about a 30ish Chicago travel agent whose intensely Greek family has an adverse reaction to her attachment to a "non-Greek" guy. Whereas the movie was over-the-top funny, the sitcom's opening episode was over the top minus the funny, despite lacking only one member of the big-screen cast.

So sadly, whoever missed out in the theater will be scratching their head wondering why this piffle of a project was the talk of 2002 and how it became the most profitable indie hit in history. But they should ponder all of that on the way to Blockbuster, where the movie, a much more pleasant endeavor, is available on DVD. [26 Feb 2003, p.12]

The series' first episode was lifeless, with perhaps three good lines in the entire half hour. Almost all of the film's charm seems to have drained away during the transition to TV. Perhaps later episodes will be better, but I wouldn't hold out much hope. [26 Feb 2003]